Life to Death to Life
by Thefinalkey
Summary: They really should start ignoring him. Every time Manny talked to them they got thrown into his ridiculous schemes. Hopefully this one wouldn't turn out like last time. After all, they only need to watch over one little spirit. How hard could it be? OC's


**I adore Rise of the Guardians. It is one of my favorite movies. Anyway, this story does involve OC's, as do all of my stories thus far. The Spirits of Death, Ren and Karn, are my characters. I won't explain too much about their jobs in this chapter, they will later explain themselves what it is they do, but if you have any questions that don't involve the plot later on I will be happy to answer them. **

**Hope you guys enjoy! Please Review! Flames will be ignored.**

Manny stared down sadly at the small town of Burgess. Such a young life had been lost. Such a brilliant light.

Jackson Overland had caught his eye more than once. The boy, thought immature and playful by most of the village, was one of the purest souls he had ever seen. He had watched the boy grow, seen how much he cared for his family and his village, and watched him save his beloved little sister at the cost of his own life.

Manny wished he could have done anything to save the poor boy, but to do so would disrupt the careful balance of order many had worked so hard to achieve. He had watched Jack long enough to know the boy would not have wanted that, and he had died at peace with the fact he had saved his sister.

Still, something felt wrong letting a soul as pure as Jack's simply disappear. Not now. He could have done so much, saved so many.

Movement by the lake caught his attention once more. Two figures glided across the frozen lake towards the hole Jack had fallen through, their black cloaks billowing behind them. It had been a few hours since Jackson's death; the sun had long since fallen and the villagers were back in their homes, grieving for the loss of the boy with the bright smile and mischievous eyes.

The two figures knelt by the hole, ignoring the cracked ice around them. They would not fall.

Manny felt a smile come to his face as he watched the two. Perhaps they could help where he could not.

_"Ren, Karn."_

They turned to him, the cloak's hood shielding most of their face from view. He hardly took notice; they had always preferred keeping their faces hidden.

"Manny?" the one on the left questioned, the voice soft, feminine. Her name was Karn.

"What is it?" The other added, the voice far deeper and masculine. His name was Ren.

Manny shone his light on the hole, a limp figure in the water becoming illuminated. _"That boy…"_

Karn nodded, looking into the water. "Jackson Matthew Overland, age seventeen. Frozen to death." She paused, looking up at Manny. "He is the one you told us about. He is older than I had assumed him to be."

_"He saved his sister."_

"…I see," Ren looked down.

_"What will you do with him?"_

Karn laid her hand on the ice. "Speak with him. His choice will decide what we do."

"If he accepts his death," Ren began, "we will take his soul with us and help him find peace. If he does not…"

"His soul will wander, growing weaker and weaker until it ceases to exist altogether," Karn stood, brushing the ice off her hand. "You know this Manny."

_"His life is precious, as are all lives. He died protecting a child."_

"Many have done the same," Ren pointed out.

_"But few have souls as pure as his. Jackson would have saved many."_

The two looked at each other.

"You want us to do something," Ren stated. "We can not give him back his life."

_"No. You can, however, give him a new one."_

Karn glared at him. "What you are asking-"

_"Not in that way, dear Karn."_

Ren placed a hand on her shoulder, stepping forward a bit. "In what way do you mean?"

_"Without Old Man Winter, winter has gotten out of control. The world needs a new Winter Spirit, and I believe I have finally found one."_

"He is very young Manny, and he has already died. It will be very difficult to bend the rules to match your request," Ren frowned.

_"He is the right person for this job."_

Karn sighed, looking down at the young face. She could just barely see his soul through the water. It was sleeping, though shifting slightly. She wondered what he was dreaming of.

"This will be very painful for him," Ren warned Manny. "The balance must be kept. Even if he has lived a life filled with nothing but suffering, that pain will not be enough to match being brought back this way. To match the price we will need to seal away his memories. Loneliness, isolation, fear, the unknown. These will follow him until the price has been paid. Are you truly willing to put this child through such suffering?"

_"He is strong. And you two will keep an eye on him, won't you?"_

The two sighed in annoyance. "Always pushing this stuff on us, honestly Manny. Your ideas of 'helping' just make up a whole lot of trouble for us," Ren groaned. The atmosphere grew lighter, and Manny shone a little brighter. They would help.

"He is a spirit brought to life by us," Karn sighed. "He will be under our care. We can stretch out the pain. Only as much as he can handle. It will take more time but he will be less scarred by it."

_"Thank you my friends."_

Ren waved him away. "Yeah, yeah, go back to whatever it is you do when you are not harassing us. This will take some time."

Manny went silent, though he watched over them still. He knew this was the right choice. A feeling deep within him told him that with the birth of this new spirit, things would begin to change. Slowly but surely.

_"What shall his name be?"_ Manny wondered to himself. _"Jackson Freeze. No, that doesn't sound right. Jack Snow. Hmmm, not quite. Jackcicle. No. Jack-"_

Ren and Karn looked at each other, shaking their heads despondently. Their oldest friend was a bit eccentric to say the least.

"Well," Ren placed his hands on his hips, staring down at the hole once more. "Lets get started."

Karn nodded, feeling much lighter than she had when they first arrived. Deaths such as these always left a bitter taste in her mouth. No matter how much she believed it would be easier for the poor kid if they just took his soul and did their original job, one less child to add to the list was always something to be treasured.

**So I totally made up Jack's middle name. And I'm not sure what his sister's name is, thought the general consensus seems to be Pippa so I'll probably go with that later. This will not immediately go into the movie timeline. I'm planning on showing more of what happened during those three hundred years Jack was alone. If anyone has any ideas of what he went through they want to throw out there I can try to throw those in there to but depending on what they will do to the plot I already have planned I can not guarantee that I will use them. Hope you guys liked this!**


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